


"This Is Stupid" or "Reasons I'm Thankful"

by SnowWhiteKnight



Category: A Song of Ice and Fire & Related Fandoms, A Song of Ice and Fire - George R. R. Martin, Game of Thrones (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Community Hall, F/M, Fluff, Librarian!Sandor, dance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-11-24
Updated: 2016-11-24
Packaged: 2018-09-01 23:31:35
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,829
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8642497
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SnowWhiteKnight/pseuds/SnowWhiteKnight
Summary: Sandor's forced to go to a community dance by his sister.





	

**Author's Note:**

> Something I wrote a while back, but wasn't sure how to finish until yesterday. :D Hope you like it.

Sandor tugged at the necktie his mother had forced him to wear.  _ Stupid community dance. Didn’t even want to come to this. _ The commons building of their subdivision was used for events once a month, to “bring the community together,” or some bullshit like that. He much preferred the sports tournaments they often held. He watched his sister dancing with yet another guy. She had been the one who wanted to come, but since their mother was working the evening shift at the diner all week and required Alya to have a chaperone, it had fallen to Sandor to bring her. He hated dances. Everyone stared at him, either for his scars or for his general massiveness, and it made him uncomfortable. Even worse, the pretty redhead he saw at the library every day was here. He had been wanting to go up to her and start chatting, but one, it was a library and as an employee, he should not be breaking rules by talking, and two, he was a coward. Give him a bully even bigger than him to fight, he was fine. Talking to the most beautiful girl he had ever seen? Not so much. She was smart, too. He could tell from the book titles she would read.  _ She probably has a boyfriend anyway. He's an idiot for not being here with her. I don't think she's danced at all. _ He had been watching her and had seen all of her siblings get up to dance, even the awkward looking one. 

She must have felt him staring, because she looked right at him. He panicked and tried to find a place to hide, but he was easily taller than everyone there by a head. He was shocked when she smiled at him and waved. He managed to wave back, but couldn’t bring himself to go over to her.

“Who’s your girlfriend?” Alya asked, plopping down in the chair next to him. She stole his soda and guzzled the last of it, ignoring his growl at her. “I’ll get you another one, geez. Now, who’s the girl?”

“She’s...I don’t know. She comes into the library. I think she and her family moved here recently. Usually see her with her brothers and some scrawny little girl.”

“So you’ve never looked up her name when she checks stuff out?” she asked.

He would have, except… “She never checks stuff out. Just comes in and reads every day.”

His sister looked back and forth between him and the redhead. “You should ask her to dance.”

He snorted. “Yeah, right. Did pigs learn to fly? You know I don’t dance.”

“Suit yourself,” she said with a shrug. “But, seriously, what’s the worse that could happen? She says no? Oh darn, the girl you never talk to anyway is not going to talk to you some more.” She got up to return to the dance floor. “Just think about it.”

He did. He hated that she was right. He really had nothing to lose. She might say no, might even laugh in his face, but there wasn’t much time left in the dance, and he could hang out outside and wait for Alya if it came to that.  _ Ok... I can do this. _ He fiddled with the long strands of hair that he covered his burn scars with, making sure they did so now. 

He got up and made his way around the back of the room. The event hall was circular, with tables set up around the dance floor in the middle. The dj was on the stage at the far end from the entrance. 

He was about ten feet away from her when he lost his nerve. He turned and walked about three steps.  _ No, I can do this. Don't overthink it. _ He turned back towards her table and got about seven feet from her before his nerves got the better of him.  _ Fucks sake, this is a bad idea. _ He turned to leave when he saw Alya glaring death rays at him. If there was one person he was scared of getting angry, it was his little sister.  _ Shit. Ok, FINE. _ He turned back towards the redhead to find her smiling at him, amused to no end.  _ How long has she been watching me? _ He made his way over to her table. 

“Hi,” she said, still smiling. 

“Hi…” His mouth felt dry. “I was wondering, would you...would you like to danceandohfuckyou’reinawheelchair.” He panicked again. How had he not noticed the damnable thing?!  _ Shit, she's going to think you're a moron. I mean, you are, but you don't want HER to know that. _ “I mean...I still want to dance with you, I just...don't know how we would...if you want to dance, I mean, I can go. I should go. Before I put my foot farther in my mouth.” He began to leave, but he felt a hand on his. He looked down to see her touching him. 

“Sandor, right? Would you like to sit down?” she asked, using her other hand to gesture to the seat next to her. He nodded and sat. “I've seen you at the library. I was wondering if you were going to come talk to me. I'm Sansa, Sansa Stark.” 

“Sandor Clegane,” he said, then realized she already knew his name. “Uh, anyway, would you like to dance? With me?”

She was still looking at him in amusement. “You want to dance with me, even like this?”

“Yeah?” He sort of felt like it was a trick question. “Why wouldn't I?”

She looked across the room, a slight frown on her face, then shook her head and looked at him with a smile. “No reason. I would love to dance with you. Actually, the wheelchair is only temporary and my doctor tells me to get out of it more often, that I should push myself a little more. I think I can handle one dance, at least. Maybe a slow one?” She was looking at him so hopefully that he had to nod. Besides, he was a crap dancer and dancing to a slow song was much easier. 

“I'll go request one right now,” he told her. 

“Ask for ‘Just The Way You Are’?”

“Whatever you want,” he said and walked over to the dj. It took several minutes to get his request in. There was a line of people and the dj was a bit of a chatterbox. When he got back to the table, he saw his nemesis there. He was only two years older than the stupid asshole known as Joffrey, but you'd think it was ten years with the childish antics Joff pulled. He was fairly certain the guy had been dropped on his head as a baby. His lackeys Meryn and Boros were flanking him, providing support. He really hated those three cunts. 

“Oh, look, the dog has come back to protect his master. Tell me, dog, when you fuck your gimp girlfriend, can she even feel your  _ love,” _ Joffrey jutted his hips out in a thrusting motion, “or do you two just have pity sex with each other and see who can cry the most?”

Sandor's eyes narrowed. He could smell the alcohol on Joffrey’s breath.  _ No wonder he's able to say this crap to my face. He's got liquid courage. _ He clapped a hand on Joffrey's shoulder, a smile across his face. “You're drunk and I'm trying to impress Sansa, so I'll go easy on you right now. Walk away. If you come back and start spewing this nonsense again, I will take this up with your uncle Stannis, the sheriff, who just so happens to be here. And you  _ know _ how he likes to be a stickler for the rules. He'll lock you up for underage drinking and not even your mommy will be able to change his mind.”

Joffrey looked confused for a moment, then looked over to see his uncle, his father and another man speaking together. His face contorted with anger and he stomped away, Meryn and Boros in tow. 

Sitting back next to Sansa, he apologized for the disruption. “Joffrey's an idiot, but his uncles keep him in line. I think he's most scared of Stannis, but his uncle Tyrion is a close second.”

“Good to know,” she said. “He was bugging me earlier, before you got here. His dad and my dad,” she pointed to the third man with Robert and Stannis, “have been friends since they were in middle school. We moved here because Uncle Robert offered Dad a job, plus it's closer to Mom's family. Uncle Robert wanted us to get along, even date, but Joffrey made fun of the chair as soon as he met me. I’m not sure he realized it was temporary.” She shook her head. “Uncle Robert was livid and even his mom was embarrassed. I think it had more to do with the other family that was there though. Aunt Cersei is very competitive with the Tyrells.”

She looked down at her legs. She had a blanket over her lap, decorated with little fluffy dogs. “It's not as bad as it looks. And it was worth it,” she said with a slight smile. 

“What happened, if I may ask?” He hoped he wasn't being rude. 

“Car accident. My younger brother, Rickon, that's him over there with glasses, needed to go to a mathletes meeting on a Saturday. Mom and Dad had to deal with my other siblings, and my eldest brother had his own activities, so I volunteered. The guy ran the red light. I swerved, and was able to minimize the damage to Bran and myself.” She held up her hands like paws and made feline motions. “Reflexes like a cat!” They both laughed. “Anyway, my leg was broken in three places. The one on my thigh bone was less severe and it's healed already, so I got a shorter cast now. The ones on my lower leg are nearly healed, which is why my doctor is telling me to move on it more. The police officer said we hit it at the best possible angle, if we had hit it dead on, we wouldn't have been so lucky. I have a walking cast now, but I'm still getting used to it. Oh, the song’s starting.” 

Sandor got up first and offered her his hand. She pushed herself up with his help and hobbled over to the dance floor with him. He felt his heart thumping hard as he put his hands on her waist and she put hers on his shoulders. They mostly just swayed back and forth, though Sandor told her to tell him if she needs to sit back down. “I'll carry you back to your chair.” That made her giggle. 

“You're taller than I realized,” she said. He was a little distracted by her fingers at the back of his neck, playing with his hair.

“Is that bad?”

She laughed. “No, not at all. I'm the tallest of all my family, so this is different. It's nice.” She blushed as she looked him in the eye. “All of this...it's very nice.” Her voice was quiet compared to the music, but he heard her, and nodded in agreement. She smelled nice. Like some night blooming flower. It felt so  _ nice _ for her to be in his arms.  _ So much niceness. It’s nice. _

She really was tall, for a girl, though he was taller still. He'd have to stoop a little if he kissed her.  _ Assuming she wants to kiss. _ He really hoped she did. Maybe he should ask? 

“Looking good, Sandy,” he heard to the side of them. He glared at Alya, who was dancing with Joffrey's younger brother. The boy looked terrified. 

“Be good,” he growled at his sister. “Sansa, this is my bratty sister Alya,” he grumbled. “Alya, this is Sansa.”

“You look really good together, you know,” she said with a smirk. He was going to strangle Alya when they got home. For the moment, he'd settle for glaring harder at her and wishing she'd go away. 

“You think so?” Sansa asked. Did he just hear a happy note? No, must have imagined it. 

“Oh! Yeah!” Alya said. Her tone had changed from mocking to sincere. Sandor didn't trust her. She was up to something. “Black and red, always classy. You got this cute thing going on, he's got this wannabe biker thing happening, and it works.”

Strangling was too good for her. He was going to straight up murder his baby sister. She'd probably laugh her ass off while he did it. He just felt so humiliated, he couldn't even look at either of them. 

“It was really good to meet you, Alya,” he heard Sansa say. Alya told her likewise and then she and Tommen twirled away across the floor. 

“Sorry about her,” he mumbled. 

“Don't be. She and Arya would probably get along well.” Sansa winced. “Oh, I think I need to sit. The offer to carry me still good?” she joked, pushing away from him. He startled her by actually picking her up, though he was careful for her leg. “Sandor! I was kidding!” She giggled and wrapped her arms around his neck for stability. “You don't have to…”

“I know,” he said, feeling his face get red. “But I was serious.” They reached the table where she had been at before, but there was no wheelchair. “Joffrey…”

“Can you please carry me over to my father?” she asked, her face slightly flushed. “I...I need to tell him it’s gone.”

“Oh, yeah, sure.” He looked around for her father and started to head towards him.  _ You should have set her down in a chair and gone to get Mr. Stark yourself. But then I wouldn’t still be holding her. _

“Dad,” Sansa called out. Mr. Stark was still speaking with Mr. Baratheon.

“Sansa? What’s going on?”

“Someone stole my chair. This is Sandor, he’s the boy I told you about, from the library?” A look of dawning realization came over Mr. Stark’s face, which confused Sandor. “He’s been very helpful. Someone stole my chair, and we think that someone was Joffrey. He was harassing me earlier.”

“That kid…” Mr. Barathon said. “I’ll go get Stannis.” He stalked off, leaving Sandor holding Sansa in front of her father.

“If it’s alright with you, I’d like to go home, Dad.”

“Oh, I have to stay to help with cleanup…”

“I can take her home. Sir,” Sandor offered before thinking about it. Sansa rewarded him with a smile. “If it’s ok with you.”

“I would be most grateful, son. Robert, Stannis and I will take care of Joffrey. Sansa, I’ll see you at home.” Her father kissed her cheek and then went off to search for the missing chair.

Alya wanted to squeal, he could tell, and insisted that she had a ride home with Tommen, who was alarmed as Alya pressed up against him until he agreed.

The ride to Sansa’s house was short, and Sandor found himself wishing she lived farther away, if only so he could have a few more precious minutes with her. At least he got to carry her again, up the steps to her house.

“You know...you can talk to me at the library. I know how to talk quietly,” she said when they got to her door. “Or, if you really are a stickler for the rules…” She reached into his front pocket and dug out his phone. He didn’t even want to think about the situation in his pants at the moment. She opened his phone and typed in a number. “Annnnnd save. There. Call me. Text me. Just don’t take forever, stud.” She winked at him and kissed his cheek.

He wasn’t quite sure how he made it back to his car, or how she got inside the house. He waited until he got back home, and was alone in his room. 

**Sandor: Hey. It’s Sandor.**

**SuperSexySansa: Hey! :D :D :D I got scared you might not text me. Saving your number!**

**Sandor: I like the nickname you put in my phone. Very accurate.**

**SuperSexySansa: ~_o**

**So...is this where you ask me out? Because the answer is yes.**

**Sandor: Ha ha, you keep beating me to the punch**

**SuperSexySansa: I have to. If I don’t, you might not do it. It’s cute! But girl wants a date with the cute librarian dude.**

**Sandor: I’m not complaining, though I am sorry I didn’t ask earlier. Tomorrow? There’s an art gallery opening. Not much for art, but you look at enough books on the subject that I bet you’d be interested.**

**SuperSexySansa: It’s a date. <3 <3 <3 Pick me up at… 7? 6?**

**Sandor: 6. Will do. Night**

**SuperSexySansa: Night, stud. :***

Sandor lay back in his bed, thankful for stupid community dances, stupid little sisters and stupid assholes named Joffrey.

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the prompt: I saw you sitting over here while everyone else is dancing, so I asked you if you wanted to dance with me, and oh my god, you’re in a wheelchair, but my offer still stands AU, by DailyAU on tumblr


End file.
